Description: The Molecular Biology Program consists of fourteen faculty who span the academic ranks, including a number who are new to MSKCC. The group has strong peer reviewed grant support from R01s and other funding mechanisms. The areas of emphasis are gene expression involving DNA synthesis and transcriptional mechanisms, and regulatory mechanisms involved in organismal development and cell differentiation. Understanding these processes is fundamental to our knowledge of growth control and carcinogenesis. The membership of the Replication and Transcription Group remain gnerally stable. The new members of the Developmental Biology Group are located in proximity to each other and to the Drosophila breeding facility. Three of the new members have been supported by the core grant. Many of the seven member Developmental Biology Group meet weekly in a journal club setting and share collaborative projects. It is envisioned that one or two more staff will be hired in the developmental biology area. There is a weekly Work-in-Progress luncheon meeting of the program at which members from within or from other programs or institutions speak. The Cell Biology and Molecular Biology Programs have a combined weekly graduate student research seminar. There is a yearly program retreat. Statements of collaborative interactions between Drs. Marians and Shuman on topoisomerases, between Drs. Marian, Massague and Hurwitz on DNA replication and some other minor interactions are presented.